22 August, Grodno /Elena Stasyukevich - BELTA/. Private business needs to be more actively involved in addressing the accessibility of preschool education. This opinion was expressed to BELTA correspondent by First Deputy Minister of Education Alexander Zhuk, who took part in the regional meeting of education system workers in Grodno today. According to the First Deputy Minister, one of the important tasks currently facing the education system is the accessibility of preschool institutions. This problem is primarily observed in large cities, where even with available places in preschool institutions, there are difficulties with transporting children to them. The task of ensuring preschool education accessibility is being addressed in various ways, including the construction of new preschool institutions. For example, in the Grodno region, 3 new kindergartens will be opened by the end of the year, 2 of which will be in Grodno. Transportation of children to preschool institutions is also being organised. Furthermore, Alexander Zhuk emphasised, the solution to the problem lies in seeking opportunities to attract business; entrepreneurs should be given the chance to open private kindergartens. "Driving up to Grodno, for example, you see many beautiful cottages, and I am sure there are quite a few parents living here who can afford to finance their children's attendance at such institutions accordingly," added the First Deputy Minister. In the Grodno region, the coverage of children with preschool education is 80.4%. As reported by Alexander Segodnik, Head of the Education Department of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee, this figure in rural areas has been increased over the year from 77.4% to 83.4% through the active implementation of new forms and the organisation of child transportation. In the future, the Grodno region intends to address the problem by clearly organising "parental routes" for transporting children to remote kindergartens, introducing new educational formats such as family kindergartens, providing governess services, and establishing private preschool institutions.

BELTA